Kim and Rudyard Kipling Old-fashioned Spy Training?

[Pinemarten]

I was reading Kipling's Kim and it got me thinking...has anyone ever come across information on how oldtime spies were trained? The Kim book is interesting....minus the James Bond Q gadgets.

Say, World War I and earlier?

There's lots of information about WWII and more modern times but not so much about earlier times.

[Skutatos]

I was reading Kipling's Kim and it got me thinking...has anyone ever come across information on how oldtime spies were trained? The Kim book is interesting....minus the James Bond Q gadgets.

Say, World War I and earlier?

There's lots of information about WWII and more modern times but not so much about earlier times.

I don't have much time to reply right now so Ill have to keep this shorter than I would like.

I spend an inordinate amount of time reading about the mid 19th Century and in that period at least, diplomats did a good deal of the spying internationally. They would gain information through bribes, favors, etc. If you get a chance, read up on all the political intrigue in Istanbul in the years preceding the Crimean War.

Prior to the Spanish-American war, the United States had an employee of the International Ocean Telegraph Company secretly forwarding all telegrams between Spain and their holdings in the Caribbean.

You might also find this interesting:
http://www.historynet.com/americas-c...ans-scouts.htm

Not as flashy as many would like, but this is how real world espionage tended to work.

[James]

You should watch Reilly, Ace of Spies.

[Roy Batty]

Try "The Great Game" by Peter Hopkirk

[kevlar308]

It is also worth thinking about the difference between spy and spy-master. The spy often being a foreign national that passes info to the spy master. Usually about one type of thing, whether it be military info from soldiers, tech info from the "manufacturing sector" or whatever.

[James]

From time to time I listen to CD lecture series of The Great Courses. Last year I had one about the history of espionage, which was great. As Skutatos mentioned, a lot of spying was done by diplomats. Being a spy was kind of a temporary, amateur, part time thing for most.

[kevlar308]

Being a spy was kind of a temporary, amateur, part time thing for most.

Some great fiction that touches on this is the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. It is the basis of the Master and Commander movie and they are some of the best books I have ever read. Historical fiction, but very well researched and written.

[James]

Some great fiction that touches on this is the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. It is the basis of the Master and Commander movie and they are some of the best books I have ever read. Historical fiction, but very well researched and written.

I agree, I've read them all. Also, fiction by Alan Furst.

[Engine Mech]

My dads nanny was a german spy in holland just prior to WW2. She would get the local papers and cut out any articles of interest and send them off to germany. When the germans invaded they knew who all the important people were and where they lived. If you are going to invade a country this is the information that you need. The germans also sent students on walking tours all over europe to map areas.